Katarina West and the One in the Shadows (rewrite)
by Clockwork Boundary
Summary: Hey guys, I'm back and I am rewriting this story. This is a story about Katarina West, the professor's informant and a private detective herself. Trouble brews when Clive Dove is released from prison and decides to steal a case from the Professor and comes to her for help. (yikes, bad summary. original was better.)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: hi guys, i'm back. I thought as a way back in, I'd just rewrite this with my new style. Hopefully you guys will like it? Idk. If enough people like it, i'll consider rewriting all 3 and maybe adding a 4****th****. **

**Hope you enjoy! This was a pain to rewrite because it's just so bad.**

Chapter 1: An old friend?

Katarina fingered the key in her hand, trying to support the collection of heavy books in her other. A quiet orange glow settled over the backstreets of London, giving it a lazy, sleepy feeling. Not a person was in sight, which was just the way the woman liked it.

She started to unlock the door to the used bookshop nestled quaintly in the narrow, mossy alley, but realized that the door was already was unlocked. A sigh of annoyance left her lips as she opened the door.

"Tell me, Mr. Dove, why do I even bother locking the door anymore?"

A young man wearing a dark blue cap and jacket sat in one of her armchairs pushed against the wall. He was handsome, with an almost permanent smirk, yet she didn't want to see him.

"No clue. At least you don't have to give me a key." He looked at her with a clever grin she knew all too well.

"Is lock-picking one of the skills you picked up from your fellow inmates?" Katarina retorted, setting down the books onto a counter where they were to doomed to collect dust until she finally shelved them. "Speaking of prison, didn't you just get out a week ago?"

"Solitary confinement. Better than getting my head chopped off though." He shrugged. "And yes, I did. I'm here to thank you for writing me. Once."

She rolled her eyes. She only did that because the professor wanted her to. To show support. But she could already tell he wasn't here to thank her. If he wanted to thank her, he could've asked the professor to do it. No, he wanted something else entirely.

Adjusting her glasses, the young lady turned around. "Sure. Now why are you really here?"

Clive's eyes darted to the ground and she knew she got him. No one could be that interested in the pattern of her rug. She cleared her throat, waiting for an answer.

"Professor needed me to ask you about something." He replied, giving her a casual shrug.

"The professor knows how to get a hold of me." She said, her voice steady and cold as she put books away.

"I needed to ask you something."

"About what?"

"A case. " He said and this time she could tell he was being honest. "You can't tell the professor about it."

"You've been out for a week and now you've decided you're a private detective? Jesus Christ, Clive…" She muttered.

"I'm not trying to be a private detective. It's the professor's case, but he won't let me in." Clive explained, sitting up. "So I decided to take it on my own."

"You're an idiot." She replied, tying her curly brown hair into a ponytail.

"That's a lie and you know it." He was right. He was smart, but he was also an ex-convict guilty of the biggest crime of the century.

He was an idiot though. No one went against the professor's orders, not even her. Even if you did, you would end up regretting it.

"Fine. Let's see it then, Mr. Dove." She sighed, glancing back at him from her shelves.

He slipped out a large folder stuffed with newspaper articles and photos that stuck out. _He even went as far as to steal this… _Katarina thought as he handed it to her. _He is serious about this case…_

"When is the professor going to want this back?" She asked, flipping through the first few photos. "Or better yet, when is he going to realize you stole it?"

"Soon. We better hurry."

**A/n: I hope you guys liked it and please tell me if you did so i can decide if i want to continue rewriting these and using Katarina West as a character. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own professor Layton or Level-5. I only own Katarina.**

Chapter 2

It was when the sunlight started filtering into the cramped upstairs flat was when she finally finished reading through the file. It was an odd case for sure. A robbery, but not just any robbery. A single decorative glass orb was stolen from a small town gallery. The authorities were baffled as there were prints all over every exhibit, but they were unmatchable. They even admitted that the orb was, well, useless. Less than two hours, an expensive sculpture was stolen from a manor on the other side of the country. Same prints, but this time they found a card next to where the painting once hung. The only symbol was an X.

She had gone through all of her books for any idea to what the object was, but to no avail. It was donated to the gallery a few years back, so no one really knew its origins, even in the town. It seemed as if no one knew what the orb was except the one who stole it.

Katarina couldn't help but admit that this was the perfect case for the professor. She wanted to know his thoughts badly, but she knew she couldn't ask him. It was a tough one, and she wouldn't be able to rely on him. After her year at Gressenheller, she grew to be good friends with the professor, even if he was busy with Luke, he taught her more than when she was actually in his class.

"What's taking so long?" Clive paced the floor, glaring at the bookshelves. "The professor could come in any moment."

"I'm trying to think." The young woman replied as she rubbed her sleepy eyes and put her glasses back on. She also discovered that Clive was absolute shit when it came to all-nighters. "This would be a lot easier if I had the professor helping."

As if on cue, she heard someone enter the shop downstairs. The file was shoved into a bigger pile of paper in a hurry where it was indistinguishable from the others. Taking a glance into the mirror leaning against the desk, she fixed her blouse and skirt. Clive could be heard downstairs talking to someone, presumably the professor and whoever was awake among his companions.

"Good morning, professor. Looking for a book?"

The young lady smiled in the slightest. He hadn't lost his touch after five years in prison. She hurried down the staircase before he'd have to lie even further.

"It's wonderful to see you, professor." She smiled, pretending like Clive was supposed to be there, even though the shop was open yet. "Can I help you with anything?"

"I don't mean to bother you so early in the morning, Ms. West, but I'm afraid it's rather urgent. Luke and I are in need of a book for our next mystery as we are leaving tomorrow." The professor explained.

"Which book?" Katarina asked, looking at ease that he hadn't asked about the file. "I'll find it for you.

"_Legends of Bellis Springs_. I remember seeing it around here a few weeks ago." He replied, his dark eyes roaming the shelves.

She nodded, remembering where she put it. Hurrying upstairs, she sifted through the pile of books she'd been studying from. She knew he wouldn't find any of the answers in there, but he wanted it.

The professor and Clive could be heard talking downstairs, but it was hard to tell if Clive was being scolded or questioned. Now that Katarina thought of it, it was hard to tell if the professor was scolding in general.

The girl returned downstairs with the book. The tension in the room was suffocating as she passed the book to him. The professor flipped through the book, overlooking how it opened to specific pages or how while the rest of her collection was in dire need of a good dusting, this one was free of grime.

"Ah yes, this is the one." He nodded, tipping his hat to her. "Thank you for helping us. WE'd better be off then. I want to arrive before dark."

With that, he was gone.

Clive glanced over at her. "Did you finish reading it?"

"Yes." She looked up. "If we're going to do this, we need to get there before the professor does."

"How?" He asked, satisfied with her answer nonetheless. She was starting to think that he'd only taken the case for her to help. "I mean, we don't have a ride."

"I guess all that time in underground London made you forget that buses exist." She teased. "Get packed. I imagine the professor and Luke will be leaving soon."

There was something about Clive that made him seem uneasy, but Kat couldn't blame him. No one even dared going against the professor's words. Even a notorious ex-convict and a book collector that spent her days solving little mysteries.

Maybe that's why she wanted to take the case.

**a/n: new things about Kat:**

**-by little mysteries, she's the human equivalent of yahoo!answers, but more helpful.**

**-as this is five years after pl3, she is 25 and clive is 27.**

**Hopefully I can get Clive's personality a little better, but we'll see.**


End file.
